Virtual Reality & Future

Everyone visualises the future once in a while. Few people would claim that they have never considered the intriguing question of what our reality might be in ten, one hundred, or even a thousand years time. Nonetheless, it takes bravery to truly throw oneself headfirst into such unchartered territory. This is the task of the dreamers, visionaries and courageous adventurers who work beyond the here and now. These are people who are not afraid of making mistakes and always get back up after failure. They show us how we can benefit from errors by transforming them into impact, thereby further developing art and science, and allow us to take a tiny step further.

In this issue, we emphasise VISIONARY IMAGINATION / THE FUTURE / VIRTUAL REALITY / ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE / ERRORS IN A CREATIVE PROCESS. We ask you to be open-minded about the new possibilities and parallel realities created by visionaries and new technologies.

Everyone visualises the future once in a while. Few people would claim that they have never considered the intriguing question of what our reality might be in ten, one hundred, or even a thousand years time. Nonetheless, it takes bravery to truly throw oneself headfirst into such uncharted territory. This is the task of the dreamers, visionaries and courageous adventurers who work beyond the here and now. These are people who are not afraid of making mistakes and always get back up after failure. They show us how we can benefit from errors by transforming them into impact, thereby further developing art and science, and allow us to take a tiny step further.

The figures that we present in this issue of Contemporary Lynx are not careless fantasisers who walk around with their head in the clouds. They are determined and dedicated artists who set clear goals and strive to achieve them. Their unique work and innovative achievements are our main area of focus throughout the issue. We talk to Broomberg & Chanarin, the London-based artist and curator duo known for their boundary-pushing work. We interview Norman Leto, one of the bravest visionaries among contemporary Polish artists. We also detail the fascinating story behind the pioneering artificial intelligence work of Edward Ihnatowicz. Other articles in this issue revolve around how visions of the future intersect with technology — something that helps us to overcome the limits defined by our bodies and minds. Technology gives us an additional hand, leg, or even a hard drive connected to our brain, and consequently enhances our skills, improves our memory and changes our perception. We will show you that cyborgs are not machines created by humans. On the contrary, it is us humans who evolve and turn into cyborgs. This shocking conclusion brings us to subsequent topics such as cyber narration, virtual reality and artificial intelligence. The latter in particular makes us question what being a human really means. After all, consciousness, creativity, learning and decision making are increasingly skills and traits of modern robots. Maybe what was presented in ‘Inception’ is true. Maybe the real world is somewhere else and we are drifting around in a dream or, more probably, a virtual reality. Maybe we are avatars, like the ones in computer games. Maybe we perform a quirky video dance in cyberspace and are directed by real players who we are not able to see.

In this issue, we emphasise VISIONARY IMAGINATION / THE FUTURE / VIRTUAL REALITY / ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE / ERRORS IN A CREATIVE PROCESS. We ask you to be open-minded about the new possibilities and parallel realities created by visionaries and new technologies.